Spectinomycin (formerly known as actinospectacin) is a well-known antibiotic. U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,092 discloses the characteristics of this antibiotic and its production by microbiological means.
A process for recovering spectinomycin from an aqueous solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,858. The process disclosed therein removes metal salts from an aqueous solution containing spectinomycin by adjusting the pH of the aqueous solution from about 9.5 to 11. The temperature is held below 20.degree. C., and a solvent selected from the group consisting of acetone, isopropanol, n-propanol and tert butanol is added to precipitate said metal salts.
The process of the subject invention is a clear improvement over the process of U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,858, which is the best prior art process known for removing inorganic salts from an aqueous solution containing spectinomycin.